The QMs are going much faster now then they were 7 years ago. Heck, they are going much faster then they were 2 to 3 years ago. The speed is getting ridiculous for young, and in some cases inexperienced drivers.

Kids are moving to faster classes much more quickly now then when we started QMs 5 years ago. It used to be that a driver had to master their current class before they moved to a faster one. That doesn't seem to be the case any longer.

When tyler raced QMs he always sat up in the seat, the controversy over to Lean or not to Lean will always be around until someone seriously gets hurt and then it would be hard to get the rule changed.

I remember our first year running the Columbus Indoor Winter Nationals the race director stopped the race because Tylers right elbow was resting on the right side body panel as it always did, (that was just his style) they told him that he had to get it all the way inside the car, now we were only talking about a couple inches that would hang over, After the race I remember questioning how they would allow someones entire body from chest up to hang out but they were worried about my drivers elbow.

Eric Cottongim

The "guy" in the picture is 2 time ARCA Champ Marvin Smith. A great guy. I'm told it took 40 stitches. Ouch.

there are outher forms of open wheel racing for young drivers!!! this is my sons jr sprint alot safer,alot cheaper, need more cars out there!!

Thanks Phil for your post. We keep Ashton Upright and run upfront just as you did with TJ. We can prove that is does not help any. We broke the track record in Jr. Honda by a tenth over Justin Pecks old record. Then our track record was broken by .0009 by Dustin Davis. My point is you can run just as fast sitting straight up. Justin was injured in the Lt. AA race and will recover, but it sure woke up alot of parents. Hopefully, one of the two sanctioning bodies will mandate a rule change. Which one does it first will win my loyalty. I do not want my kid to have to live with the guilt of running into someone who is exposed. Mini Indy is moving the handler area to prevent handler injuries.

Man, that .0009 is a bummer. The fourth decimal number is not real. It's a random number generated by the system. Could just as easily been 0. What happened to Justin?

Showtime...We are running Jr Sprints at the Speedrome this Sunday. Here are some photos from May 3...

Chuck Kidwell directs them.. Here kis a link to more photos from May 3 at the Speedrome.

http://www.maximumdirt.com/forum/vie...hp?f=1&t=13477

Quarter midgets will also be running a slightly larger than regulation flat track in the infield at the Speedrome.

This all happens before 4:00 p.m.

For those wanting to see midgets only...Racing starts at 5:00 p.m...we have a 75 lap- feature..and we should finish at 7:30 p.m.


 May 31 – Rumble Series midgets (75-lap feature), Mini Cup Cars, quarter midgets, karts, junior sprints

Tickets: Adults, $15; Kids 6-11, $5; Kids 5 and under, free
Pit passes: $30 all day or $10 for first session only



Here is an event flyer attached

The argument I have heard is that larger kids need to lean out to keep the car from biking over. My opinion is that if your driver is getting to a size where he can't keep a QM on 4 wheels it might be time to look for another form of racing.

It's up to the parents to make sure a kid is in the car tight. I have seen kids fake like their hands are inside the car when being checked only to later see their arm resting on the ground while waiting in the hot shoot.

How many times have you seen a driver, head outside the car watching his/her line, come out of a turn and run into a car that was dead on the track? I have seen a lot of good equipment destoyed because drivers were hanging out looking down rather than looking out of the front of the car as they should have been.

Justin suffered severe whiplash as a result of a violent accident in LT AA. The Lt. AA's were turning 5.50 laps. It was one of the most sickening wrecks I have witnessed at a QM race. His poor neck seemed to stretch a foot.

During the end of our QM run I was starting to notice kids wearing HANs devices rather than a neck brace. I don't think a HANs is a good idea for a QM. It only controls front and back neck movement, not side to side.

I would only use a HANs with a safety seat that would support the head from side to side.